Nighttime hypos

Experiencing hypoglycaemia is never something you long for. It's a nuisance and it makes you feel very uncomfortable. During the daytime, you are alert enough most of the time, to see it come. There's plenty of time to get some glucose tablets or regular coke. In a jiffy you feel better.

It's a little different when it comes to nighttime hypos. Sometimes the low blood glucose wakes you up, sometimes it doesn't. In my beginning years of D, hypos really freaked me out. Especially nighttime hypos. I didn't recognize them at night and I was often afraid to go to bed. Afraid I would sleep through it and never wake up again. I know better now.. Your liver stocks a certain amount of sugar (16 lumps of sugar, to be correct), at all times. This sugar gets released when you are experiencing hypoglycaemia and you are not responding. Often it leaves you with a high morning reading, a terrible headache and an exhausted feeling. That's when you realize you had a hypo during the night and you slept through it. Isn't it awesome to know how clever our body works? I'm amazed to hear that our own system tries to help us out when we are not capable of responding. It's better to treat your hypos yourself, since every time you experience a very low, there's a chance your brain might get affected.

Our youngest whippet - Inthe - is a pretty smart dog and on several occasions she woke me up while being in Hypo land. I don't know how she does it, but she starts to lick my face, right until I'm ready to wake up and test my blood glucose. Most times, she's right. Maybe I make strange sounds then or maybe my body shakes, I don't know. I have never seen me having a hypo!